United Nations Daily Highlights, 10-03-12

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From: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.org

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY MARTIN NESIRKY

SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Friday, March 12, 2010

SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON CONDEMNS PAKISTAN BOMB ATTACKS

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

condemns the series of attacks in Pakistan which has occurred in recent days. These include the suicide bombing today in Lahore which killed and injured scores of people as well as the attack on the office of the humanitarian non-governmental organization, World Vision International.

He reiterates that no cause can justify such inhuman and indiscriminate acts of violence. He extends his condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government of Pakistan, and wishes those injured a full recovery.

BAN KI-MOON PLANS VISIT TO HAITI ON SUNDAY

The

Secretary-General plans to travel to

Haiti this Sunday on a one-day visit to assess conditions on the ground.

This will be the Secretary-Generals second visit to Haiti since the tragic earthquake of 12 January.

While in Port-au-Prince, the Secretary-General will meet with Haitian President Preval and Prime Minister Bellerive, as well as with the leadership of the

UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and the UN Country Team.

The Secretary-General will also visit a camp for internally displaced persons and engage directly with Haitians still suffering the debilitating consequences of the earthquake.

REVISED FLASH APPEAL FOR HAITI ONLY HALF-FUNDED

Two months on since to

Haiti was struck by the earthquake, the

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says the

Revised Humanitarian Appeal is only 49 per cent funded.

On the ground, humanitarian work continues, with more than 4.3 million people having received food assistance, 1.2 million people receiving daily water distributions, and more than 300,000 children and adults have been vaccinated.

More than 56 percent of 1.3 million people in need of shelter have been provided with emergency shelter materials, and preparation work is starting on two sites identified by the government for the relocation of displaced persons from other high-risk settlement sites the first site for relocation will have its official inauguration tomorrow, the 13th of March.

Asked whether UN personnel in Haiti would seek a new headquarters building, the Spokesperson noted that the first priority of the

UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) is to help the Haitian people.

At present, he said, the headquarters for MINUSTAH is at the logistics base near the airport. The

Secretary-General can assess the situation for UN personnel when he meets with the officials on the ground this Sunday.

SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS MANDATE OF MINURCAT; BRIEFED ON RESOLUTION 1701

The

Security Council this morning adopted a resolution extending the mandate of the

UN Mission in Chad and the Central African Republic (MINURCAT) by two months, until 15 May.

The Council then went into consultations to hear a briefing from Michael Williams, the

UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon. He presented the

Secretary-Generals latest

report on the implementation of resolution 1701, which notes that the continued respect of the cessation of hostilities by Israel and Lebanon has provided for the most stable period in the relationship between the two countries for decades. Yet the situation remains fragile, which is further compounded by the use of increasingly strident and bellicose rhetoric warning of renewed conflict.

Wolfgang Weisbrod Weber, Director of the Asia and the Middle East Division of the

Department of Peacekeeping Operations, also briefed on the work of the

UN Interim Force in Lebanon.

Asked whether the United Nations is worried about the situation of people displaced by fighting if MINURCAT leaves, the Spokesperson noted that todays Security Council two-month extension was a technical one. The United Nations, he said, will continue discussions on future of MINURCAT beyond 15 May.

Nesirky said that the UN's preference remains for MINURCAT to stay, with the appropriate level of troops to carry out its mandate.

He noted that Under-Secretary-General for

Peacekeeping Operations,

Alain Le Roy, had recently visited the region to talk with authorities about extending MINURCAT, and his report on that visit would go to the Security Council.

NEW CHIEF INVESTIGATOR APPOINTED TO SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON

The Office of the Prosecutor of the

Special Tribunal for Lebanon announced the appointment of Michael Taylor, a British national, as its Chief of Investigations.

Taylor has extensive experience in criminal investigations, including with the London Metropolitan Police Service, where he served primarily within the Criminal Investigation Department and Specialist Operations.

CONCERN GROWS OVER WORSENING SITUATION FOR CIVILIANS IN SOMALIA

The

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is extremely worried about the worsening situation for the civilian population in Somalia, following the latest indiscriminate fighting in Mogadishu and elsewhere in the country. UNHCR

estimates that, since the beginning of the year, more than 100,000 Somali civilians have been forced to flee their homes across the country.

UNHCR is especially concerned about the safety and well-being of some 8,300 people who, without any means to get out of Mogadishu, remain displaced within the capital. As the fighting rages on, aid agencies lack access and cannot assist these extremely vulnerable internally displaced people.

Meanwhile, during the past week, insurgents disrupted food aid deliveries, intended for five kitchens under the

World Food Programme-supported wet feeding programme in Mogadishu. They seized two trucks on 6 March, but released them the following day after elders intervened.

U.N. POLITICAL AFFAIRS CHIEF ENDS VISIT TO NEPAL

The Under-Secretary-General for

Political Affairs,

B. Lynn Pascoe, today ended his three-day visit in

Nepal During his visit, he urged Nepals political leadership to move forward in the peace process by taking action to reintegrate former combatants and complete the new constitution on time.

Before his departure, Pascoe told reporters that Nepal's leaders understand exactly what has to be done and now is the time to move it forward. He described his visit as extremely good.

He said that the two biggest issues Nepal now faces are the question of integration and rehabilitation, and drafting of the constitution. Pascoe added that there is a clear responsibility of the political parties, the political leaders and the Government in Nepal to come to conclusions and decisions of their own.

He also reiterated the UNs commitment continue working in any way possible to provide assistance where needed in this process, through the

UN Mission in Nepal and the country team.

THE WEEK AHEAD AT THE UNITED NATIONS

Saturday, 13 March

The Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Francis Deng, will undertake a mission to West Africa from 13 to 26 March 2010. Specifically, he will be in Guinea on 13-14 March; in Liberia on 18-19 March; in Nigeria on 22-23 March; and in Ghana on 25-26 March. The purpose of his mission is to discuss his mandate and exchange views on national and sub-regional mechanisms that could contribute to the prevention of genocide, with government officials, UN colleagues and ECOWAS officials.

Sunday, 14 March

The Secretary-General will visit Haiti. The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Response Coordinator, John Holmes, will accompany him.

Monday, 15 March

In Geneva, the UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) will hold a joint press conference to launch the latest WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme Report on Water Supply and Sanitation titled: "Progress on Sanitation and Drinking-Water: 2010 Update." The report provides the most recent data on sanitation and drinking-water, along with an assessment as to the implications these data have on reaching the water and sanitation Millennium Development Goal target.

In Geneva, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn, will hold a press briefing, as will the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tomas Ojea Quintana.

Tuesday, 16 March

The Secretary-General will hold a press conference at 12:15 p.m. in the Dag Hammarskjold Auditorium at UN Headquarters, ahead of his travel to Moscow to attend the Quartet meeting and subsequent visit to the Middle East.

At 10:00 a.m. at UN Headquarters, the Secretary-General will brief Member States about his report laying the groundwork for the Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (20-22 September). The report, entitled Keeping the Promise, will serve as a basis for Government deliberations on an action-oriented outcome document for the Summit.

The Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Sha Zukang, will travel to Grenada where he will participate in the Caribbean Regional Meeting on the Mauritius Strategy of Implementation plus 5. Among other issues, the three-day meeting is expected to address the vulnerabilities that characterize Caribbean small island developing States, in particular the increasing frequency of natural disasters, the global financial and economic crisis, and the recent food and fuel crises.

Wednesday, 17 March

The President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Hamidon Ali, will be the guest at the Spokespersons Noon Briefing. He will outline his plan of ECOSOC for 2010, including its annual meeting with the Bretton Woods Institutions, the World Trade Organisation and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development on 18-19 March 2010 and the agenda for its High-level (Ministerial) Segment of its annual substantive session.

The Security Council will hold a briefing on Cote dIvoire, at which the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Cote dIvoire, Choi Young-Jin, will brief.

The UN Development Programme and the Government of Morocco in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of France will host a High Level Conference, titled Capacity is Development, in Morocco, from 17-19 March. More than 70 governmental officials from 40 countries will discuss how to enhance their institutions capacities to become more resilient, to deliver services more effectively and to improve peoples lives.

Thursday, 18 March

The Security Council will hold a meeting on the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

Friday, 19 March

The Security Council will hold an open debate on the impact of illicit arms trafficking on peace and security in the Central African region.

The renowned development thinker, Professor Frances Stewart, will deliver the Mahbub al Haq lecture, before an audience including UNDP Administrator Helen Clark. In her lecture, she will ask how the human development approach first laid down by al Haq 20 years ago can be used to help meet the major challenges facing development endeavours today. The lecture will take place in Delegates Dining Room (Room 6) at UN Headquarters between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

United Nations, S-378

New York, NY 10017

Tel. 212-963-7162

Fax. 212-963-7055

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